Improvement in breech-loading ordnance



E. R. MGCABEQ Breech-Loading Ordnance. y

Patented May 27, 1862.

Witnesses vention.

Urinn TATES PAirnN'r @trrcn.

EDlVARD R. MOOABE, OF ROCHESTER, IOVA.

IMPROVEMENT IN BREECH-LOADING ORDNANCE.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 35,380, dated May 27,1562.

I State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inBreech-Loading Ordnance; and I do hereby declare that the following is afull, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which-Figure 1 is a side view of the breech part of a cannon constructedaccording to my in- Fig. 2 is a longitudinal central ver= tical sectionof the same. Fig. 3 is a transverse section of the same, takenimmediately in front of and looking toward the breech.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the severalfigures.

The principal object of my invention is to obtain a guninwhichgun-cotton maybe used,

andwhich will therefore be particularly serviceable in casemates andbetween the decks of ships, as the use of gun-cotton, owing to thelittle smoke produced, does not produce in the men working the gun in aconfined place the choking thirst, smothering sensation, or blindnesscaused by using gunpowder. Owing to the danger of loading at the muzzlewith gun-cotton, I employ the breech-loading system, and my improvementsare more par ticularly directed to the strengthening of the breech andits connections and the surrounding parts to produce a breech-loadinggun of the requisite strength.

The firstimprovement consists in fitting the chamber of a breech-loadingcannon with a stout tube of steel or other tenacious metal, which I callan internal re-enforce, the interior of which. is much smaller than thecaliber of the gun, and the length of which is sufficient to enable itto contain the charge, the

object of the said tube being bothto strengthen the gun and to reducethe amount of the area of the breech that is exposed to the force of theexplosion.

The second improvement consists in a novel mode of locking andtightening up the breech, whereby the joint between it and the chamberis made very secure and close.

A third improvement consists in a novel priming and firing apparatus.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I willproceed to describe its construction and operation.

The gun A should be made very stout at the breech. It is bored rightthrough and counter-bored a little larger for a sufficient distance fromthe rear for the reception of the internal re-enforce B, which, wheninserted as far as it will go, has its rear end flush with the rear endof the gun, which is faced perfectly true and flat and perpendicular tothe axis of the bore. The interior of the re-enforce Bis cylindrical,and its caliber may be about half of that of the regular bore of thegun. Its front end may be flat, or of other form, according to the formof the projectile used, the latter being arranged close in front of it,as shown in red outline in Fig. 2. If made of steel, this re-enforcewill add very greatly to the strength of the gun. The charge is to beinserted in the interior of the re*enforce B in a cartridge of thinmetal, and is intended to fill up its in terior. Two or more of thesere-enforees may be used and changed after one or more discharges toallow them to cool. The one in the gun is always withdrawn for loading,as otherwise the projectile could not be inserted at the breech. Thewithdrawal is effected by an elastic hooked fork, which may becompressed to'allow it to pass through in aforward direction far enoughfor the hooks to spring in front of the re-enforce, By removing there-enforce the gun is enabled to be used like ordinary guns forgunpowder.

The breech is composed, principally, of two Very stout plates or blocks,0 D, of metal, arranged one behind the other, and connected by screws aa in such manner as to permit them a slight movement toward and fromeach other. These screws are merely to hold the two plates or blockstogether. The front plate or block, 0, has screwed into it or otherwiserigidly attached to it a socket, E,which passes through the center ofthe plate or block D, surrounded by a hollow screw, G, which is screwedthrough the latter plate or block from the rear. The plate or block 0 isattached at the bottom by a hinge-joint, b, to the bottom part of therear end of the gun, so that the breech may open by swinging backwardand downward. To each side of the gun, at a short distance from the rearend, there is secured by a' hingej oint, f, one of two dovetailcheekpieces, F F, of steel or wrought-iron. These cheek-pieces have eachthree dovetails, c, d, and '6, two having the same direction and fittedto separate dovetail recesses in the eorresponding side of the plates orblocks 0 and D, and

' them to lock the breech to the gun independently of the hinges f,whichare only to attach the cheek-pieces to the gun in a suitable manner tohave them always in the proper position. The screw Gscrews up againstthe front plate or block 0 to set it up tight against the rear end ofthe gun after the breech has been secured by the cheek-pieces,which havetheir dovetails a d fitted very easily into the plates or blocks 0 D. Toopen the breech, the screw G is first turned back about one-fourth of arevolution to loosen the cheek-pieces in the plates or blocks 0 D. Thecheek-pieces are then swung aside and the breech thus allowed to dropdown. To close and lock the breech, it is first raised up to the rear ofthe gun. The cheek-pieces arethen brought into the dovetail cavities inits sides, and the screw G is then screwed up tightly against the plateor .block 0, thus tending to separate the plates or blocks 0 and D andbring 0 close up to the rear of the gun, and D back hard against thedovetails d (l. The object of making the breech of the two plates orblocks 0 D and applying the screw G is to afford facility for opening iteasily, and to enable it to be made very tight when closed and secured.

The socket E is for the reception of the priming-tube H, which is fittedto work easily back and forth within it, a shoulder, g, being providedin the socket, and a corresponding shoulder on the tube to prevent thelatter from entering too far. The front end of the tube H is closedexcept that there are vents z i, to

. permit the passage of the fire of the priming to the charge, and it ismade with a point, h, to penetrate the cartridge for the fire to enter.Some distance from the closed front end there is an opening, 01, in oneside of the tube for the admission of pellets of percussion-priming. Thetube His furnished near its front end with a spring-catch, j, to retainit in the socket, by entering a groove, k,provided in the latter; butthis spring is constructed and arranged to be liberated from the socketby pressing it with the thumb or finger. I is a plunger working in thepriming-tube H, for the purpose of exploding the priming, and attachedto the tube by .a slot, l, and pin m, or other means that will allow itto move back and forth some distance within the tube. The plunger has atits outer end a knob by which to take hold of it and withdraw it and thetube from the breech. I will here remark that the drawing representsthe-priming apparatus very much larger relatively to the gun than itwould require to be in practice. To apply the priming the knob of theplunger I is taken hold of, and the spring 7 pressed with the thumb orfinger and both the plunger and the priming tube are withdrawn togetherfrom the breech. A pellet of priming is then dropped into the tube infront of the plunger through the hole n, and the tube and plunger arereplaced in the socket. To fire, the head of the plunger is strucksharply with a mallet or hammer, and the plunger and tube thus drivenforward together, making the point of the tube penetrate the cartridgeand causing the priming to be exploded between the end of the plungerand the front of the cavity of the tube.

I do not claim, broadly, fitting the chamber of a breech-loading gunwith a tube, as I am aware that a light tube has been used therein, toobtain convenience in loading, without adding to the strength of thegun, but, on the contrary, its interior being of the full size of thebore of the gun. Neither do I claim, broadly, the reduction of the'sizeof the chamber, as that is done in muzzle-loading guns, but

IVhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is

1. Fitting the chamber of a breech-loading gun with a removable tube, B,of the character herein described, and termed an internal re-enforee,for the purpose specified.

2. The breech composed of two plates or blocks, 0 D, combined with eachother and with the gun by means of the dovetail cheekpieces F F, andscrew G, applied and operatingsubstantially as and for the purposeherein specified.

3. The priming-tube H, and plunger I, applied in combination with eachother and with the breech, substantially as herein specified.

EDVVAR-D R. MCOABE.

\Vitnesses:

JOHN R. BARNES, GHAs. STODDARD.

